1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a rotatable mixing device, a dynamic mixing apparatus, and a high throughput workflow system and dynamic mixing method employing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Static mixing devices that comprise static mixing elements and a tube or pipe have been known for more than 40 years. Examples of such static mixing devices are mentioned in patent numbers U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,992; U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,652; U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,830; and GB 1,122,493 and patent application publication numbers GB 2,086,249 A; EP 0 071 454 A1; WO 92/14541 A1; and WO 99/00180 A1. Some of the static mixing elements are helical-shaped. Generally, the static mixing elements are immobilized within, and in physical contact with inner surfaces of, the tube or pipe. Axially flowing (e.g., pumping under pressure) two or more liquids through the tube or pipe and around the static mixing elements immobilized therein can cause temporary radial diversions of the fluids within the tube or pipe and at some point can lead to mixing of the fluids. Because such static mixing devices require axial flow of the liquids through the tube or pipe, the static mixing devices are unsuitable and ineffective for mixing two or more fluids together in a container.
Chemical and allied industries desire a rotatable mixing device and mixing method that would be capable of, among other things, mixing a viscous and non-viscous material together within a container. Preferably, a laboratory-scale version of the rotatable mixing device would be useful in a system for a high throughput mixing workflow and the mixing method comprises the high throughput mixing workflow. Such high throughput mixing workflow would be especially useful as a means for accelerating materials and formulations research and development.